DUBAI—Iran’s barrage of ballistic missiles this week appears to have overwhelmed Israel’s air defenses in some places, despite causing limited damage, said independent researchers who examined emerging satellite imagery.
Iranian Missiles Overwhelmed Israeli Defenses at Some Sites, Analysts Say
Related:
Israel censors reporting on military sites hit by Iran, obscuring extent of damage
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the country warned the United States against any interference during the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory operation against Israel, stressing that any potential response by the Israeli regime and its supporters will be met with a more severe one.
Iran Says Warned US Against Interference During Missile Op Against Israel
The focus of political and media attention has inevitably turned from Europe to the Middle East, where the United States, through the Secretary of the Pentagon, has insisted on “Israel’s right to defend itself,” has welcomed the assassinations of Hezbollah leaders carried out by means of massive bombings in Beirut, and has given explicit approval to the ground operation with which Tel Aviv and Washington claim to want to “dismantle the attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that the Lebanese Hezbollah cannot carry out attacks in the style of October 7 against communities in northern Israel.” The precedent of the last twelve months in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon foreshadows what the ways of defending oneself against Israel will be and that the United States will continue to justify any excess, selective assassination or massacre, while any response, such as that which occurred yesterday with the launching of Iranian missiles against Israeli military bases, will be considered an unacceptable escalation. And although Ukraine’s public concern for securing priority war status has not yet begun, any escalating war could affect Kiev, especially when it comes to imposing its discourse of existential war on the West as a collective.
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IF advocates of the United States’ access to bases of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US deployment of intermediate-range missiles prove the above headline unduly alarmist, this writer would be most thankful.
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Out-Competing China and Constraining Russia
Forget Hardened Bases, Pacific Conflict Requires Agile Combat Employment, Commander Says
The Plan to Defend Guam from Missile Threats Is Years from Completion: More Investment Is Needed Now
Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles in the Indo-Pacific
The past nine months of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza have spurred an unprecedented global awakening to the plight of the Palestinian people. At no point in the 76 years since the formation of the state of Israel and the unleashing of the Nakba has there been such sustained and open anger at Israel and such widespread solidarity with the Palestinians. The massive demonstrations in cities across the globe, the severing of diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, the recalling of ambassadors, rulings from world courts against Israel, and mounting demands for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state—none of this would have taken place without the impetus of Hamas’s armed insurrection on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war of annihilation in Gaza.
Taiwan’s military’s proposal to convert local temples into ammunition depots during wartime has sparked public concern that the sites would be targeted in the event of a cross-strait conflict.
Taiwanese military bid to store ammunition on temple grounds during wartime sparks outcry (archived)
A US media outlet’s report has claimed to shed light on atrocities committed by foreign hirelings dubbed by the West as so-called “volunteer soldiers” fighting in the proxy war in Ukraine.
‘Kill-Crazy’ Foreign Mercs in Ukraine Bragged About Murdering Russian PoWs – Report
Related:
In Ukraine, Killings of Surrendering Russians Divide an American-Led Unit
What the article left out is; to shoot far, the Philippine military needs to see far. However, the Philippines don’t have any over-the-horizon (OTH) radar, military satellites, AWACS planes or other long-range ISR capabilities, to make use of the full range of the BrahMos missile. Without it the missile is limited to the range of its available ISR assets, which are measured in just dozens of kilometers.
However, if a BrahMos missile is ever launched against a long-range Chinese target, it will be easy to guess who would have supplied the essential Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) information and target identification to the Philippine military.
South China Sea: Philippines’ anti-ship missile base puts Scarborough Shoal in cross hairs
Even if the Philippines lacks the advanced communications, intelligence, and targeting systems needed to maximise the BrahMos’ capabilities, it could still leverage US support in these areas, Koh said, citing the sinking of Russia’s Moskva warship by Ukraine in 2022, which he said was achieved thanks to “targeting support provided by Kyiv’s allies, chiefly the Americans”.
The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva became the largest warship lost in combat since the second world war when it was hit by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles in April 2022. US officials later told the media that the Pentagon had provided intelligence that led to the ship’s sinking.
For the Philippines, the BrahMos missiles are “significant game changers” [🙄], according to security strategist Chester Cabalza, president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank in Manila.
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However, Don McLain Gill, an international-studies lecturer at De La Salle University in the Philippines, questioned whether the BrahMos purchase alone would deliver robust deterrence against China.
“It will be crucial for the BrahMos to be supplemented by efficient intelligence, surveillance, target-acquisition and reconnaissance, which is critical to track targets and ensure they can be used by command,” he said, warning Manila must invest further to maximise the missiles’ deterrent value.
Previously:
Philippines Builds First BrahMos Anti-Ship Missile Base Facing South China Sea
US To Convert Pacific Oil Rigs Into Military Bases as Part of Anti-China Buildup
Related:
Criticism:
In December 1999, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in response to a congressional mandate issued a report which delineated the impracticality of MOBs, “the largest floating offshore structure ever conceived by maritime engineers”, on the grounds of high cost and vulnerability to threats such as missile attack.
Wikipedia
Whac-A-Mole is fun!
Moscow has released a video that it says shows Ukrainian POWs boarding the military transport plane which was shot down over the Russian border region of Belgorod on Wednesday.
WATCH Ukrainian POWs boarding doomed transport plane
Previously:
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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